Walt Williams:  The Teacher Who Got Everything He Wanted

Celebrating Creekside’s Move to Adelle

Editor’s Note: Creekside High School is a small continuation high school that is an alternative option for students in the Sonoma Valley. Its focus is on creating flexible, individual learning plans for students that will encourage both personal growth and academic achievement. 

Creekside maintains a population of 60 juniors and seniors with various academic needs and behavioral challenges. Originally housed in three portable classrooms by Nathanson Creek on the Sonoma Valley High campus, Creekside moved to the SVHS L-wing in 2002 and has shared space with the high school ever since. This year, with the combining of the middle schools, Creekside moved to the adjacent Adele Harrison Campus.

Walt Williams has been teaching at Creekside for 26 years, currently teaching art, physical science, biology and P.E. This is his musing after the first day of school. 

By Walt Williams

It might be time for our close up.

I am the dog that caught the car. 

Two things most people know about me: I hate cell phones and I have a lot of crazy ideas. Well, guess who had the best Monday in years? This guy.

After a ridiculous amount of data, SVUSD has become a cell-free school district. This might not seem like much unless you look at the decline in reading and math scores since 2013, and think about what was happening around that time and what has happened since. Smartphone use up, intelligence/creativity/interactions down. Fewer independent artists in my art classes, less independent play from the golf and tennis teams, less inquiry, lighter conversations, more pot, more students who ask me, “What can I do to get a D?” and fewer students who seem fully engaged in life and learning.  

Add to that, political leadership that promotes hate, separation and fights against scientific truth, plus ten years of profits over people, and I believe we are going through a type of de-evolution of the species.    

OK, that’s kinda dramatic, but overall, smartphones have made us stupider. But now, for four hours per day, bell-to-bell, phones cannot be out anywhere in school, and after day one, it feels really good. I had deeper conversations about kid’s summers, goals for the year, plans, jobs, our new site, and even why the new policy is the right one. Students know they are addicted to their phones and they need the adults to say, “I see this, it’s hurting you and I’m going to stop it.” Kudos SVUSD board.

Now, could it all turn to crap tomorrow? Sure, and it might, but it’s about progress not perfection, and judging by the excellent marshmallow towers (Google Marshmallow Challenge) sitting on my desk, we are in for more creativity, innovation and engagement than ever.

And did you hear the one about the teacher who got everything he wanted? Well, he lived happily ever after, or at least until he retired in a few years. It’s not a very exciting story unless you are the teacher and you suddenly have a gymnasium, basketball courts, a field, acres of land, gardens, fullsized classrooms, AC and heating that work, natural light, no dripping ceiling, a freaking kiln, and a central quad which makes your othered students feel not so othered for the first time since you started in the alternative education world 26 years ago. 

I even have multiple places to store 10-foot letters (CARE in U.S. flag colors coming soon to the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art), my multiple golf team bags, there is the gallery showcasing art and displaying our thematic units (Unit 2, AI: Really cool pencil or end of the world?) and did someone mention the 9-hole frisbee golf course being created by my PE class? See, having space also means letting my idea flag fly free (like designing our first school flag to fly on our new flag pole).  

The funny thing is, I never knew any different, I just went to work, did my job, sometimes had success, sometimes not, I was content and my teaching life was as well. 

But something happens when things start working out – you want other things to start working out, that’s how the brain works, success and growth lead to more success and growth. And I have big ideas, like vocational programs, building tiny homes, more internships, deeper learning. It’s a growth mindset that I could talk about for hours. But I’ve bored you enough for one day. Can’t wait for Tuesday.